Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I bought some calcuim carbonate from the pet store yesterday to use as the substrate on my hotter side (the other side is astroturf) The pet store recomended it and said it was great. Is this stuff good for BP's?

Not really all that good. Sand is for the beach and deserts. Not Ball Pythons.

it's pet stores job to make you spend money...all you need is newspaper...simple...absorbant..easy to clean & dirt cheap. I haven't heard stories of snakes having impaction but I heard of in an quite a few cases with lizards. That stuff is just not as safe as they claim. If you must use a nicer looking substrate than newspaper I have had good experiences with coconut bark chips (although they produce a red dust that can be irritating during cleaning) & keeper's choice was good too.

later

causes lots and lots of deaths due to impaction. Supposedly the calcium, if ingested, does not break down as well as they indicate and clumps up in the stomach and eventually kills the animal.

I don't know how it would do for snakes but can tell you, in my opinion, if they are going to be that careless about using it for bearded dragons (one of the major problem lizards with this stuff) and recommend it be used for them who's to say they won't recommend it for other animals it may harm? Also, there's no good reason to support them anyway.
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Rob Talkington

...which I've seen in lizards...there is the dust factor, irritation of ventral scutes factor, and dessication factor. My rec is to avoid its use with snakes, except for certian desert-dwellers.
Scott J. Michaels DVM

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